One morning in April 2025 Shuri Chibana was scrolling through her high volume of emails when one in particular caught her eye – announcing that she had won the 2025 Outstanding Graduating Senior (OGS) Award. Chibana, 23, was stunned to learn that she was the CSS graduating senior who best exemplifies the Collegeʻs core values of scholarship, leadership and service. “I was overwhelmed by the honor,” said Chibana. “I thought about my family, and all of the hands and hearts that helped me get to this moment.”
Chibana came to the UH Mānoa campus from Palau in 2023, after completing her Associate of Arts (AA) degree in liberal arts at Palau Community College. Now, as the Psychology major prepares to walk in her cap and gown on Saturday, May 17, at the Stan Sheriff Center, she believes the OGS award reflects the strength and values of her home country.
“Coming from an island nation like Palau, this recognition means so much more than just a personal achievement,” said Chibana. “It speaks to the strength of my people – the cultures and communities that continue to raise and ground me.”
Chibana’s accomplishments are numerous and impressive. She is a member of the Pi Gamma Mu Honor Society, the oldest and most preeminent honor society in the social sciences; has earned much recognition and support, including the Asia Pacific Islander American Scholarship, Palau National Scholarship and Pacific Islander Grant; and serves as a CSS Ambassador and secretary/treasurer of the Micronesian Connections Association.
In addition, Chibana serves as a peer mentor for the First-Year Programs, in which she supports new students in their academic and personal transitions to UH Mānoa. She is also an intern for two programs that uplift and empower the Pasifika community on campus, with duties that include coordinating the Palauan Student Survival Guide; and organizing events like Snack & Chats, which focus on outreach to Pacific Islander student organizations.
Chibanaʻs future plans are to return to Palau to help her community. But first, she is looking forward to Commencement Day, when parents Shinji and Marites Chibana will fly in from Airai, Palau’s second most populous state after Koror, to watch her receive her diploma.
Also in the viewing stands that day will be her younger siblings, who are both UH Mānoa students: 18-year-old sister Shizuka Sophia, studying finance, and 21-year-old brother Yuji, a junior majoring in marine biology and also a transfer student from Palau CC.
Chibana said having her siblings and friends from Palau studying with her at UH Mānoa heightened her higher education experience, and she looks forward to more Pacific Islanders attending in the future.
“There’s a Palau proverb, ‘Before you leave your house, stop and look back at it.’ That means before you go on to do other work and go other places, reflect on where you came from,” said Chibana. “Those are the anchors that will keep you true to who you are.”
